Thursday, July 30, 2009

Today's the day. Two years ago today I started this little thing called blogging. To say that it has been a blast would be a total understatement. Having this blog, and meeting so many amazing people through it, has changed my life and opened up my world. I have made so many wonderful friends that "get me." I know I've said this before, but it is so true. Your support and words of encouragement have meant so much to me these past two years.

So, without further ado, here is the winner of my giveaway.

Kay Haworth (no blog)

Kay, please email me with your address so I can get your goodies in the mail to you pronto.

I so enjoyed reading each and every comment you left here and learning about why you all love July. You probably have been hearing about the record breaking temps we have been having (I know a lot of you are experiencing them for yourselves). I have been laying low, hanging out in my air conditioned home, reading, watching tv and just being lazy. Today that ends as I must pay a visit to my two mall spaces and do a little fluffing. I got a call from Stars and Splendid yesterday saying that my vanity sold. You remember this one don't you?

I'm a little sad to see it go, but now I have room for another big piece in my space. Speaking of my Stars space, it has only been a little over a month since I moved in and it seems to be doing very well. Thanks to those of you who have asked about it.

On another note, remember this picture of my front room? I showed it on my keeping it real post.Well, I've been making a great effort to clean it up and not use it as a resting place for my waiting to be dealt with finds. The other day it looked so nice I just had to take it's picture.

You can see I still have some boxes off to the side and there is just a tiny peek at some shopping carts waiting for liners, but still, a huge improvement, don't you think?

I think we will grab some pizzas and have dinner on the boat tonight. A little jump in the river will cool us off. Have a great Thursday. I'll be back with Dreaming of Paris-Part Deux.

Monday, July 27, 2009

July is a special month for me. It is probably my favorite month as we usually have lovely weather here in the PNW in July. It also happens to be the month of my birth and now for the past two years, it is the month in which I celebrate my Blogiversary. I started this great thing we call blogging July 30, 2007 and I would never have guessed what a fun ride it would be/has been. Hey, did you notice in the middle of the word "blogiversary" is the word "give?"

To celebrate this special month, I'm going to "give" something special to one lucky reader. If you've been following my blog for awhile, you know I love to give stuff away. Sometimes it's something special I pick up in my shopping adventures, sometimes it is a collection of some of my favorite things and once it was something I made (a barkcloth pillow). This time I thought I would share some of my favorite things. Here is just a sampling of what I will be giving away to one lucky winner.

Bag of miscellaneous millinery flowers, scrappy pack of vintage wallpaper (great for collages), bingo cards, mini wallpaper clipboard and a vintage hankie lavender sachet. Just to keep some of it a surprise, I will also be including some of my other favorite things (not telling).

To win the giveaway, simply leave a comment on this post, and to make it interesting, tell me one thing you love about July. I will draw a winner first thing in the morning of Thursday, July 30th.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Today I had every intention of going for a walk with my friend Kate and then coming home and cleaning my house. When I say that my house is a mess, please believe me. It is. It has been ages since I cleaned my bathrooms, vacuumed, mopped the kitchen floor, etc. Really, it's awful so I was excited (maybe not the right word here) that I had a whole day to do nothing but clean.

Here is where I went wrong. When I got up early this morning (around 5:30am-my usual time) I went on the computer. Chatted with my new buddy Kim on Facebook. Then I decided to check out craigslist furniture listings. Really I blame these gals. You see, for the longest time I have wanted a bed outside. Only I didn't know how I could manage it what with all the rain we get here in the PNW and everything. So last weekend when I saw this,

I just knew I had to find one for my very own. What I'm trying to show here is the very cool rolling/folding bed they beautifully recovered. It's kind of hard to see as they have a lot of other cool stuff on top of it, but you get the idea.

This one is a full sized bed and even though I love how the back can be propped up, I thought I should probably look for a smaller twin sized bed. Well, as luck would have it. I found on on craigslist this morning for only $25.00. So after my walk, I got in my car and brought this home. Okay, nothing special, but I do love the blue paint and the fact that I can roll it into the house or garage when it rains is a big bonus. Also handy for those extra house guests too. As soon as I unfolded it I ran around the house like a crazy woman gathering bedding to make it look cute and cozy.

Better, right?

Even better. My daughter decided she wants to sleep out here tonight.

I pretty much spent the whole day out here reading decorating books. So much for my clean house.

On another note, my buddy Mitzi who you have heard about here on my blog, finally started a blog of her own. You can see it here. Please drop by and give her a warm blog welcome. Lookie at this awesome dress form she is transforming into an amazing work of art.

Isn't this so cool?

I promise on my next post to fill you on all the details of my birthday/blogiversary giveaway!

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

It's been over a week since my last post and what a week it has been. I spent the majority of it working on projects and getting ready for the fabulous Barn House Flea Market. I sewed, painted, upolstered, sanded, priced and packed. By Friday morning I was all set to go. We loaded the trailer and our cars and headed out the door. It was probably one of the hottest days of the year and I felt as if I was literally melting, but we managed to make it there, unload and set up.

To say that the caliber of vendors there was top notch would be an understatement. It was such an incredible show. Here is where I apologize, because I did not take one single picture of the show. There were so many amazing photographers there I knew I could just send you to their blogs to see some incredible shots of this awesome show. You can see some great pictures here, or here or here or here or here or here or here.

The best part of the show for me was getting to spend time with some amazing people like lovely Tiffany, who was so kind to let Isabel and myself crash with her in her lovely motorhome. Thanks so much Tiffany. Wish we could have stayed up later and giggled until all hours if we weren't so tired. We also got to spend some time with the adorable Kim. You may remember Kim from one of my Farm Chicks posts. She bought a crinoline from me and wore it proudly. This sweet mom of four boys loves being girly. She also has some amazing pictures of the flea market on her blog so go check it out.

I feel so honored to be included with such talented and fun people. Thank you so much Joe and Jermone for letting us join your Barn House family and for being such wonderful hosts. You guys are really the best!

So instead of pictures of the show, I can show you a few things that I brought to sell and some things I have found recently, including what I bought at Barn House.

Gave this little vanity bench a makeover with paint and fabric. This is the fabric I bought from Diane at Expo. Perfect for this bench!

A great frilly vintage crinoline. Sold this one at the show. I snagged this awesome primitive hutch off my front porch. I sold it to Natalie in the last minutes of the show. I already miss it, but know it's gone to a good home.

Vintage white buttons in cool old jars.

Cute little wood box with drawer.

This cow print was a must buy at a flea market I went to recently. I had to give it to Joe and Jermonne as a little present. If you look carefully at the lower left hand part you will see "L. Johnson and Co." That's me! More flea market finds. The crock was a keeper. All others have gone on to my mall spaces.Found these cuties at the thrift store.Flea market bling and sweet things.

And finally, what I bought at Barn House. A lovely crinoline and crocheted hat from Natalie and the sweetest little crochet compact cover from the lovely ladies at June Bug.

Last week was my birthday and next week will be my two year blog anniversary, so to celebrate, I will be doing a giveaway. I will share more details on my next post so be sure to come back.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

As I mentioned on my last post, on Friday I went to the Portland Antique Expo to help out Isabel who is selling there and to do a little shopping.

Isabel and I have sold at this show together the last three years, but this year I decided I wanted a break.

Friday was a beautiful day, cool in the morning, but it got a little hot later in the afternoon. Here are a couple pictures of Isabel's booth. So many cute things.

You can click for a better view. In fact, I insist you click so you can see all of Isabel's wonderful items, many of which are most likely now with their happy new owners.

Joy's adorable booth.

Diane's booth and part of Mary Ann and Shannon's booth.

I didn't really get around much to take pictures of the many, many incredible booths. After Isabel got mostly set up, I headed out to do a little shopping. I didn't think I was buying much, but by the time I got it home and took pictures, I realized that I found quite a bit of good stuff.

Here's what I ended up buying. Some of it is for me, some for resale.

Cute vintage white bedjacket with lace. This will look sweet with a white tank, jeans and flip flops.

Vintage white cotton nightie. It looks like a top, but it is really knee length on me.

Something I'm always looking for is gorgeous fabric to use in my many sewing projects. The top two are reproductions. I already have a project in mind for the top right one. I only got a tiny bit of the one on the left second from the top. The lady I got it from said someone came before and bought all the big panels that matched. Darn! But I did find a lovely floral panel (next to it) which will eventually make some lovely pillows. Also pictured here is an adorable vintage chenille crib spread. Lovely colors.

I found a huge bag of vintage clip earrings and a couple of vintage silver watches for my collection. I only took a picture of the best ones.

Cute old tin wall pocket and a lovely burlap and rhinestone button pin made by the sweet Krista.

Krista and Julie's booth was across the isle from Isabel and I totally regret not getting pictures of it as they had the most fabulous stuff. I wanted it all! Really, I did.

Lovely rhinestone earrings and brooch.

I found not one, but two baby crinolines. A full slip and crinoline alone. This is my newest collection. I'm going to replace the baby dresses hanging in the window of my bedroom with the baby crinolines.

Also pictured here is a neat old cigar box with applied flowers and some french flash cards I got from sweet Sue.

And finally, a lovely vintage slip. So much prettier in person. I love the pin tuck gathers. They sure don't make slips this pretty with this much detail anymore which is why I love the old ones so much.

Well, that's it for now. Portland Expo is still going on today until 5pm. Sunday is a good day to go as the dealers may be a little more willing to bargain as it's the last day. I will be spending my day running a few errands and getting some things ready for the Barn House Flea Market which is next Saturday! Yikes! I'm so excited though and I know this is going to be such a fun sale with lots of good friends selling and shopping. If you are in the area, I hope you will come by to say hi. I promise, it will be worth the trip. I'll be back soon with more vintage finds and a birthday/ blog anniversary giveaway.

Added note: I am still having trouble getting my pictures and text where I want them to be. So, please bear with me while I try to figure this out.

Thursday, July 9, 2009

I am way behind in my blogging. So sorry! My main squeeze updated our software and now I can't drag my pictures where I want them to go. Does anyone else have this problem? Anyway, I am finally posting about the awesome 4th of July we had. I had been wanting to do this hike at the Oneonta Gorge (just off the Columbia River Gorge) for ages and we finally got the chance. I wanted to wait for a hot day as I was told that we would have to hike through a river to get to the waterfall at the end. Then I was told that in some parts the river would be up to our waists. Yikes! It was true. What I didn't know was that there was a huge log jam we would have to climb over to get to our destination. So without further ado, here are a few pictures (out of order of course) of our hike.

This was our reward at the end of the hike.

Here's the gang, minus me, ready to hike.

Looking up.

Daughter and "the boyfriend" waist deep in the river.

It really was such a beautiful setting. The only negative to the hike was on our way back a young mother had fainted and her poor husband with two little boys and a little girl in a back pack was calling for help. My guy ran to help and then ended up carrying her out. The husband confided that they just found out that she was pregnant. An ambulance was called and she was resting in her car when we left.

We then made out way to two more waterfalls, Horsetail Falls where we had a picnic before hiking to the lovely Ponytail Falls and then on our way back home we stopped at Wakeena Falls. So pretty! I wanted to keep going and find more places to hike, but everyone else was pooped so we headed home. Got a few hours of rest before we headed out again to a big fireworks show in Oak Hills (near Portland).

Unfortunately, as my husband was running to help, he dropped the camera so we didn't take anymore pictures as we thought the camera might be broken. It wasn't, just a little bit wet.

Tomorrow I am headed to the Portland Antique Expo to help Isabel get set up for the sale. I plan to do a little shopping as well. If you are headed there, I hope to see you. Just look for us at booths number 147 & 148. Or, if you see me walking around with this shopping cart, stop me to say hi.

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Suzanne and I did a swap over a year ago which you can read about here and here.

It wasn't easy, but I managed to save devouring this lovely magazine for my camping trip this week. When I go camping, I love to have lots of magazines to read while I'm sitting in front of the campfire. This issue of Sommerset Life was simply fabulous.

Not only did it feature Suzanne's lovely photo, but it also had a wonderful article by local photographer extraordinaire, Robin Laws who I had the pleasure of meeting at the Tarte Barn.

And, I was thrilled to find another article by my sweet Washington friend, Tiffany.

Suzanne is such a dear. Even though she lives all the way across the country, I feel that we are kindred spirits and I hope someday we will have the opportunity to meet in person. What fun we will have then!

It's been awhile since I've shown you any vintage finds. I haven't been doing a lot of thrifting lately, but I have managed to find a few cool things. Like this lovely jeweled Christmas tree on velvet. I have since plucked all the cute jewelry and rhinestone buttons off of it to use in my projects.

I got this pretty pink pearl and rhinestone bracelet from Karen, one of the dealer/friends I did the garage sale with last weekend.

I found this awesome table (love the chippy pink paint) at an estate sale a few weeks ago. It is definitely a keeper after I give it a good scrup. The little white table got a good sanding and is now at my new mall space at Stars & Splendid.

Love this black and white polka dot apron. I will be wearing this one at the Barn House flea market on July 18th. Hope to see you there!

I am totally in love with this adorable little tole painted lamp shade. Looking for the perfect tiny lamp to go with it.

This bride and groom was my one and only find from our camping trip. We stopped at an antique mall nearby and I found it in the glass case at the register. I almost didn't get it as I have so many, but the price was good and I love the little lace veil she is wearing.

And finally, I have been adding to Sally Ann's collection of pearl necklaces. The most recent one I found at Value Village. It's the one on the chain, kind of in the middle.

That's it for now. I'll be back soon to tell you about the fabulous July 4th we had. Hope you had a good one too!